My first time running Sydney Marathon. I have run over 75 marathons it the past 14 years, including 13 Bostons, 4 NYC, 2 Londons, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo (next year), and … MORE
My first time running Sydney Marathon.
I have run over 75 marathons it the past 14 years, including 13 Bostons, 4 NYC, 2 Londons, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo (next year), and many US full marathons with times of 3:21-3:50 in the past, but slowed down to 4:00-5:00 this past year due to new job and no training.
I’ve visited Sydney a few times and love the city. Great for hosting an Abbott World Marathon Major as they are a Candidate Race.
Even though Sydney Marathon has grown a lot locally, there’s a lot of improvements to work on to be a WMM. The logistics and support here was more like a Rock n Roll Half Marathon race in the US, not a World Major. My feedback for the race organizers:
– Sydney is a wonderful city to host a WMM – very international, lots of hotels, extensive and easy public transport, very modern, very friendly and safe.
– Course is beautiful, especially in the 1st half and finish. The section around Centennial Park is a bit boring with lots of out-and-backs to make the distance.
– Parts of the course need larger roads. Some streets are narrow 1-lane each way (with all the out-and-backs), and runners were squeezed.
– Expo was nice but small. Inconvenient location this year with runners needing to take a train plus a shuttle bus, and shuttles were infrequent with long lines.
– Expo needs more staffing. e.g. the ASICS store checkout (main sponsor) had just 3 registers, compared to 30-40 at the other majors.
– Expo had no Info/Solutions desk or was hard to find. I was asking around if runners get a race shirt at the Expo and no one knew the answer.
– Expo’s custom imprinting on store items was nice but understaffed. Just 2 machines with long lines, and staff was dealing with other issues 50% of the time instead of just running the machines.
– Participant Guide (souvenir book with all the ads and all the logistics details) was nice but online only, NOT in a PDF format. Need to zoom in to see details, and every time you change pages, it would automatically zoom out again. Awkward to find needed info.
– The Marathon and 10K courses finished at the Opera House, wonderful location! The Half Marathon and 3.5K courses finished 500m up the street, not so exciting, sad for them.
– All courses started at Bradford Park, under the north side of the Harbour Bridge. The only way for everyone to get here was by train, exiting at the Milsons Point station next door, and walk down. Great for races with 40,000 registered. Not enough space in the park (let alone the port-a-potties), corrals, and train platform and exits to clear everyone out safely, with big backups on the platforms and incoming trains. The other Majors have at least 3-4X the space at their Start Villages.
– Finish Village in the Botanical Gardens next to the Opera House is nice but could be spaced out better. T-shirts, electrolytes, bananas were all placed close to each other (all within 50m) with minimal staffing, so huge crowd and bottleneck there at entrance to Garden. Bag check was spaced out further away, well placed.
– Race course was beautiful along the water and city streets. Not so many spectators, and it didn’t pass through many neighborhoods.
– Biggest issue was low staffing of aid station volunteers, and aid stations too far apart (first one at 5K) and every 2.5K after that. For this hot day (and for a Major) need twice as frequent aid stations.
– Aid station staffing was low. Due to forecasted heat wave, more water was delivered, but not enough staff were putting out cups and filling cups. At one station, only 10 staff, and 3-4 staff were putting out cups, and 3-4 staff were pouring from pitches, with big crowd of runners waiting for cups and water.
Pardon all the criticism, but I’ll be sending this feedback to the Post-Race survey. I hope Sydney will grow up fast to be a WMM Major soon.
I know many of my runner friends are considering going to the Abbott WMM Age Group Championship at next year’s Sydney, including myself, so heads up on some potential issues, and hopefully improvements next year as well.
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Beautiful, needs to improve for 7th WMM
My first time running Sydney Marathon. I have run over 75 marathons it the past 14 years, including 13 Bostons, 4 NYC, 2 Londons, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo (next year), and … MORE
My first time running Sydney Marathon.
I have run over 75 marathons it the past 14 years, including 13 Bostons, 4 NYC, 2 Londons, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo (next year), and many US full marathons with times of 3:21-3:50 in the past, but slowed down to 4:00-5:00 this past year due to new job and no training.
I’ve visited Sydney a few times and love the city. Great for hosting an Abbott World Marathon Major as they are a Candidate Race.
Even though Sydney Marathon has grown a lot locally, there’s a lot of improvements to work on to be a WMM. The logistics and support here was more like a Rock n Roll Half Marathon race in the US, not a World Major. My feedback for the race organizers:
– Sydney is a wonderful city to host a WMM – very international, lots of hotels, extensive and easy public transport, very modern, very friendly and safe.
– Course is beautiful, especially in the 1st half and finish. The section around Centennial Park is a bit boring with lots of out-and-backs to make the distance.
– Parts of the course need larger roads. Some streets are narrow 1-lane each way (with all the out-and-backs), and runners were squeezed.
– Expo was nice but small. Inconvenient location this year with runners needing to take a train plus a shuttle bus, and shuttles were infrequent with long lines.
– Expo needs more staffing. e.g. the ASICS store checkout (main sponsor) had just 3 registers, compared to 30-40 at the other majors.
– Expo had no Info/Solutions desk or was hard to find. I was asking around if runners get a race shirt at the Expo and no one knew the answer.
– Expo’s custom imprinting on store items was nice but understaffed. Just 2 machines with long lines, and staff was dealing with other issues 50% of the time instead of just running the machines.
– Participant Guide (souvenir book with all the ads and all the logistics details) was nice but online only, NOT in a PDF format. Need to zoom in to see details, and every time you change pages, it would automatically zoom out again. Awkward to find needed info.
– The Marathon and 10K courses finished at the Opera House, wonderful location! The Half Marathon and 3.5K courses finished 500m up the street, not so exciting, sad for them.
– All courses started at Bradford Park, under the north side of the Harbour Bridge. The only way for everyone to get here was by train, exiting at the Milsons Point station next door, and walk down. Great for races with 40,000 registered. Not enough space in the park (let alone the port-a-potties), corrals, and train platform and exits to clear everyone out safely, with big backups on the platforms and incoming trains. The other Majors have at least 3-4X the space at their Start Villages.
– Finish Village in the Botanical Gardens next to the Opera House is nice but could be spaced out better. T-shirts, electrolytes, bananas were all placed close to each other (all within 50m) with minimal staffing, so huge crowd and bottleneck there at entrance to Garden. Bag check was spaced out further away, well placed.
– Race course was beautiful along the water and city streets. Not so many spectators, and it didn’t pass through many neighborhoods.
– Biggest issue was low staffing of aid station volunteers, and aid stations too far apart (first one at 5K) and every 2.5K after that. For this hot day (and for a Major) need twice as frequent aid stations.
– Aid station staffing was low. Due to forecasted heat wave, more water was delivered, but not enough staff were putting out cups and filling cups. At one station, only 10 staff, and 3-4 staff were putting out cups, and 3-4 staff were pouring from pitches, with big crowd of runners waiting for cups and water.
Pardon all the criticism, but I’ll be sending this feedback to the Post-Race survey. I hope Sydney will grow up fast to be a WMM Major soon.
I know many of my runner friends are considering going to the Abbott WMM Age Group Championship at next year’s Sydney, including myself, so heads up on some potential issues, and hopefully improvements next year as well.
Promising
I was pleasantly surprised by the fun positive vibes put on by my home city, which in my view has been losing its fun vibe progressively over the years. Fun … MORE
I was pleasantly surprised by the fun positive vibes put on by my home city, which in my view has been losing its fun vibe progressively over the years. Fun music, quirky characters and cheering crowds all unexpected but welcome. Organisition leading up to the race was good and the expo was fun and well organised. I was left confused about the baggage transfers and felt they could’ve communicated better about that. The course was good, with a bridge start and opera house finish. I did think there was too much time in centennial park. I found the race a bit crowded, was always adjusting my pace to dodge or take over people. In typical Australian style the food was meagre, just water and electrolytes and the occasional gel, I do get embarrassed about that. Probably the nanny state to blame there. But generally I was proud of it. I hope they can make further improvements over the coming years.
Sydney is not ready for the Majors
Marathoners started after the half-marathoners in brutal heat. We were on gun time not chip time, so for those of us in the back of the pack, we were screwed. … MORE
Marathoners started after the half-marathoners in brutal heat. We were on gun time not chip time, so for those of us in the back of the pack, we were screwed. Hydration stations became sparse in the last half of the course; I was hosed down with salt water; and there was no shade or ice in 90 degree temps. I DNF’d at mile 22.
Overall a horrible experience for the huge expense to travel from the USA.
Sydney a world major? Needs to improve.
I have run a number of Sydney marathons over the last 37 years and was eager to run 2023 to see how it has progressed in its quest to be … MORE
I have run a number of Sydney marathons over the last 37 years and was eager to run 2023 to see how it has progressed in its quest to be a world major. In a nutshell I think it has many areas for improvement.
One had to attend the expo which was located in industrial area and not serviced by public transport – had to catch feeder buses from closest train stations and the feeder buses were a bit disjointed. The expo was big enough for me though very little promotional items available.
Everyone knows that Sydney has a lot to offer scenery wise, that is a given and a big plus. Sections of the course highlighted some of the scenic foreshore and of course crossing the harbour bridge but running multiple times around parts of Centennial Park and back and forth laneways before and after the park was mind numbing.
Access to the start area was chaotic with Milsons Point station unable to cope with the volume of people – big crushes to get off the actual platform and exiting the station.
Availability of portaloos at the start was very poor, I waited 35 minutes in queue. Was very crowded accessing the start area (large sections of the park from which the race started were barricaded off which made it difficult to move at times.
Organisers continue to have half marathon, plus this year 10k run, starting prior to the marathon which means the actual marathon didn’t start till 7:10am on a day with a forecast temp of 30 degrees Celsius. Many of the wave C runners didn’t start till about 7:40 or later (by which time a lot of the half marathon runners would have been able to finish and escape the heat) which meant they wouldn’t expect to finish till between 12 – 2pm in the hottest part of the day.
Spectators were fabulous compared to other Australian marathons but I can’t compare to other majors as haven’t done any of them.
Bands and singers on the course – great for some but I would prefer more portaloos at the start.
Finishing at the Opera House was great but having to do the Mrs Macquarie loop in the last 3 km was nasty for me with its hill.
Will I do it again – yes because I would like to see organisers improve on the offering.
Very scenic but not designed or run well
Numerous out and back with 180 degree turns orange cones that slows the overall pace and results in many people cheating by short cutting the cones. The course goes over … MORE
Numerous out and back with 180 degree turns orange cones that slows the overall pace and results in many people cheating by short cutting the cones. The course goes over numerous curbs, which is not ideal. Zero nutrition at the race finish, only water. Minimal spectators on the course. This race is immature and not professional relative to Berlin, New York, Chicago, Boston, London, California International, et al.
Most beautiful run
Running over the bridge was the least impressive part. Most beautiful run I have ever had. Swag, expo, and finish line refreshments are an American phenomenon, don’t expect the same … MORE
Running over the bridge was the least impressive part. Most beautiful run I have ever had. Swag, expo, and finish line refreshments are an American phenomenon, don’t expect the same here. Only down side was that I was enjoying the scenery so much I was on an easy run. Could have run faster and the finish line was a surprise with plenty of gas still in the tank.
Lots of switch backs
The weather in Sydney around the race event is usually good for running with sunny and mild temperatures. Public transport to the event makes getting to the start line easy … MORE
The weather in Sydney around the race event is usually good for running with sunny and mild temperatures. Public transport to the event makes getting to the start line easy and entrants receiving free travel on the day. The expo/race swag is very basic don’t expect much more than receiving your bib number. The course itself starts at the harbour bridge and finishes at the Sydney Opera house two iconic sites which show off Sydney to its best. Unfortunately there are a LOT of switch backs on the course that I didn’t enjoy. The course spends a lot of distance in Centennial Park switching back and forth. In the last kms of the race it switches back again sending you onto a section of motorway when you are nearly within eyesight of the finish.
The drink stations were well run but I felt there could have been more. Spectators and entertainment were sparse, really only at the end there were a few spectators cheering on their loved ones.
There was no food offered at the end of the race, which really surprised me, I was only offered a water bottle. This definitely needs to change. I’ve run seven marathons and this was the first time no food/bananas or recovery drink had been offered. I received a finishers shirt and medal. Overall Sydney is a great location for an event like this but felt this was an expensive Marathon to enter and didn’t stack up in terms of generosity and support to other events I’ve run.
Stunning Sydney city harbour run
A very well organsied event. Stunning route traversing the harbour bridge, through the city, parks and back to numerous quays around Syndey harbour and ending at the Opera House. Starting … MORE
A very well organsied event. Stunning route traversing the harbour bridge, through the city, parks and back to numerous quays around Syndey harbour and ending at the Opera House. Starting at about eight defgrees and rising to 14 through the run.
Scenic course
The Sydney half marathon was the first half and oversea race for me. Having done a few full marathons, I thought this would be a walk in the park and … MORE
The Sydney half marathon was the first half and oversea race for me. Having done a few full marathons, I thought this would be a walk in the park and boy was I wrong. Did not expect so many inclines for this race because I was previously under the assumption that this course was relatively flat. Weather was perfect with little to no wind and lots of sunshine. There wasn’t much entertainment on course, but the scenery more than made up for it. The city made a very good effort to turn this into a good experience for runners by ceasing all traffic on the Sydney Harbor Bridge during the run (unlike another race I’ve done where they’ve only allocated a few lanes for the runners on the bridge while cars were zooming by you on the other side) and free transportation for the entire day with show of bib during race day. Finishing at the Opera House was absolutely stunning and made this a very memorable experience for me. I hope to be back for the full next time when I visit again!
On a side note, there wasn’t much swag as half marathoners didn’t get a finisher shirt, but I can’t complain much since we still got a leg massage post race in the recovery village (long wait though)!
Sydney's most scenic run
I have had this run on my bucket list for about 6 years... in fact it was going to be the first half-marathon I would run, but fate had other … MORE
I have had this run on my bucket list for about 6 years… in fact it was going to be the first half-marathon I would run, but fate had other ideas and it was my 11th.
The weather this year was perfect, overcast, cool but not cold and the occasional breeze. The tradeoff for these perfect conditions was that Sydney was not it’s dazzlingly beautiful sunny self but I’ll take a comfy run any day.
The course itself was less hilly that I was expecting with the hardest of the uphills in the first 2ks up to the centre of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is the one morning per year the bridge is closed to traffic so it’s pretty special. The course weaves around city streets, makes a quick detour into Hyde Park before heading out past Darling Harbour into Pyrmont where you turn around and head back though Darling Harbour then through the new scenic Barangaroo Precinct before coming back under the harbour bridge glimpsing the finish line from the Overseas Passenger Terminal. From there it’s and easy 1k around Circular Quay and to the finish line at the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
In terms of swag there is a measly bottle of water, and medal and a newspaper at the finish line. You could pre-order post race meals in the botanical gardens for crazy prices. At registration you can order at race day singlet for the cost of postage ($6.50) it’s ok quality. You also get free public transport on the day.
I registered late at a cost of $120 so it’s an expensive run, but I guess that’s what you pay for the opportunity to run over the main deck of the Harbour Bridge, around an major city finishing at the Opera House.